Mum-of-two who ate 500 takeaways in ONE YEAR sheds third of her body weight
A MOTHER-OF-TWO who gorged on 500 takeaways in ONE year has shed a third of her body weight for the sake of her children.
Natalie Fowkes, 25, from Langley Mill, Derbyshire, ballooned to a shocking 18 stone after spending a staggering £150,000 over the course of three years on greasy food.
After remembering what it was like to be called 'Fat Nat' and 'beached whale' by cruel school bullies, Ms Fowkes decided to lose a whopping SIX stone to avoid her kids being mocked for her appearance.
Ms Fowkes - who now weighs 11st 9lb - said: "I did not want the kids to say, 'Look at the state of your mum'.
"I know how cruel kids can be, so I wanted to help for when they got older.
"I was always the biggest in the class so people called me fat.
"I was called names constantly and, at the time, I remember thinking, 'They will all regret it one day'.
"When I was single, I'd go out in to town and people would say I looked disgusting and like a man.
"It was horrible and I'd cry all the time."
I did not want the kids to say, 'Look at the state of your mum'
The now-svelte mother said she first started to pile on the pounds when she left home aged 18.
But she reached her heaviest weight after putting on four stone shortly after giving birth to her four-year-old daughter Maisie.
Looking back on her unhealthy eating days, Ms Fowkes admits that she did have a problem with food.
"I was terrible for takeaways and loved chips, crisps and full-fat Coca-Cola," she said.
"My diet was disgusting and I'd eat anything I could get my hands on.
"I loved food so much, it was an addiction.
"People with a drug addiction get all the help in the world but I didn't get that.
"Food was my comfort. I hated being fat and I used to think, 'Why can't I just be thin?'
"I was in my 20s and still young."
Ms Fowkes achieved her incredible weight loss using Slimming World programmes that a friend recommended to her four years ago.
After plucking up the courage to attend her first meeting, the weight soon started to drop off.
She said: "Slimming World has been my life.
"I can't begin to imagine what it would be like without it.
"I have so much more confidence.
"Four years ago, I would never have dreamed of showing off my legs."
She even continued with the programme after the birth of her second child, Ollie, in June 2013 - losing an astonishing 12 and a half pounds five days after he was born.
She has now started her own Slimming World group, to help other people lose weight.
NATALIE'S DIET NOW AND THEN:
BEFORE
BREAKFAST: Three slices of white toast with chocolate spread, cup of tea, packet of biscuits
LUNCH: A McDonald's or Greggs' super-sized cob with a full-fat cake
DINNER: Crispy chicken with a mountain of chips or a pizza or a kebab
AFTER
BREAKFAST: Full English Slimming World breakfast with fruit and a yoghurt
LUNCH: Pasta or jacket potato
DINNER: Meat dish with vegetables and potatoes
